Support for Teens | Navigating social and school pressure

Teens are often feeling:

• Crushed by pressure: The constant weight of grades, college applications, social media, and future plans can feel unbearable.
• Socially anxious or isolated: Feeling intensely self-conscious, afraid of judgment, or struggling to fit in—online and offline. This can include navigating cyberbullying and social drama.
• Overwhelmed by big emotions: Mood swings, irritability, anger, or sadness that feels out of control and confusing.
• Digitally overloaded: Stress from constant connectivity, social media comparison, screen fixation, and the pressure to be always available.
• Never good enough: Comparing themselves to curated online highlight reels and feeling like they constantly fall short.
• Unmotivated and stuck: Feeling “lazy” or apathetic, which is often a sign of overwhelm, depression, or being simply burnt out.

Understanding the Jargon (What’s Actually Happening?)

In clinical terms, we might be supporting teens with:

• Anxiety Disorders: Including social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and panic attacks, which are increasingly common in teens.
• Depression: More than just sadness; it can appear as irritability, fatigue, and withdrawal in adolescents.
• ADHD & Executive Dysfunction: Challenges with focus, organization, time management, and impulsivity that impact school and home life.
• Social & Relational Challenges: Navigating bullying, peer conflict, and building healthy friendships.
• Life Adjustments & Family Dynamics: Difficulty coping with parental conflict, changing schools, or social conflicts.
• Identity Development: The natural, yet challenging, process of forming a sense of self.

How we deal with it in therapy together:

My approach with teens is collaborative. Our work will include:

• Building a Trusting Connection: The first step is creating a safe, confidential space where teens feel heard, understood, and respected—not judged or lectured.
• Developing Real-World Coping Skills: Using techniques from CBT and DBT to manage overwhelming emotions, reduce anxiety, and navigate social situations and digital stress with more confidence.
• Improving Executive Functioning: For teens with ADHD, we’ll co-create real-world systems and strategies for organization, time management, and task initiation that actually work for their brain.
• Strengthening Self-Esteem & Identity: Helping them challenge negative self-talk, discover their unique strengths and values, and build a more compassionate self-view away from social media comparisons.
• Enhancing Communication: Providing tools to help them express their needs and feelings more effectively with family and friends, reducing conflict and building healthier relationships.
• Parent Support & Collaboration: I provide periodic check-ins with parents to align on goals and offer guidance on how to best support their teen’s progress at home, while always maintaining my teen client’s confidentiality.

A Little Something to Help Now: The TIPP Skill for Big Emotions

This DBT technique can help quickly calm the body’s stress response when emotions feel too big.